How to Train Your Dragon 2
by Th3Gh0stWr1ter
Summary: My sequel, before the actual movie comes out. When winter strikes early at Berk, the Vikings seek refuge at the legendary Eldur Isle. Hiccup struggles to balance his responsibilities as the next Chief with his relationships with Toothless, his family, and his friends. When dragons - and villagers - on the island start disappearing, his abilities will truly be tested to the limit.


**How to Train Your Dragon 2**

The unofficial novelization of How to Train Your Dragon 2! Seeing as the movie isn't out yet I've decided to write my own sequel, which uses some scenes from the trailers and contains a few nods to the official plot. Let's go on a journey :)

I don't own HTTYD, etc.

~The Ghost Writer

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_This is Berk._

The sea surrounding the island was an endless blue sprawl covering the earth. It stretched as far as the eye could see, currents shifting laconically with the gentle ocean breeze, beneath a calm blue Scandinavian sky. The calls of a few seabirds in the horizon floated gently through the air, beneath the bright yet reserved sun radiating somewhere from behind the small, puffy clouds which flecked the heavens. Like the perfect vision of a lazy afternoon, siphoned fresh from a daydream.

There was a faint whistle in the distance, accompanying the sound of the gulls. It gradually rose in both volume and pitch, until it drowned out the birdsongs altogether.

A dark, winged form whizzed through the sky at eye-blurring speed, flying low above the water's surface. Its momentum causing a powerful draft that rippled through the waves, spraying ocean mist into the air. The creature navigated left and right with impossibly graceful precision.

A dragon.

But it was not alone, for perched upon the mythical beast's back was a human, controlling its movement. The misty spray lapped gently at the rider's face; he could feel it even through the narrow eyeslits of his iron helmet. He could hear the world beneath him groan as a school of Thunderdrums lumbered amongst the waves in perfect formation. He could see the water glistening off their scales and their manta-like bodies. Together, as if linked telepathically to one another, rider and dragon weaved left and right just above the magnificent creatures, eventually passing them.

_Dragons used to be a bit of a problem, but now they've all moved in._

The rider eased his right foot on the stirrup, which was actually a complex mechanism attached to the dragon's left tailfin, allowing the two for free flight. Flying parallel to the surface, the duo glided in a straight line for a while, enjoying the air blowing against their faces.

Looking up, the human could see a quilt of clouds up above him. Signaling to the dragon, he put his foot on the stirrup and clicked it.

Position three.

The left tailfin – actually a red sail-like prosthetic emblazoned with the white silhouette of a Viking skull, shifted accordingly, and the dragon suddenly dipped, twisting counterclockwise in a full circle under the right wing of a Thunderdrum lurching out of the water. Then, as only a dragon could, it shot up towards the clouds.

"Yeah!" the rider shouted, as they penetrated the first layer of clouds, piercing the fog around it. The dragon's eyes were slits of intense focus as it zipped around the enormous white puffs.

_And with Vikings on the backs of dragons…_

The rider patted the dragon's side. "Okay, bud, let's do some tricks," he said. "Ready?"

With superior the finesse, the beast flipped itself upside-down. The world spun before the rider's eyes. Tucking its wings in tight, the dragon commenced its dive, dropping back down towards the ocean like an arrow, before spreading its wings again and resuming its vertical ascent towards the stratosphere until it could fly no further. Then, with a powerful shriek, it plummeted down freely, righting itself and pulling off a series of impressive twists, turns, and aerial pirouettes, soaring upwards yet again, higher and higher, until…

"What d' ya think, bud?" the rider asked, as they floated above the white blankets. Up here, traces of cloud hung in wisps in the clear sky.

"You wanna give this a shot?" the human asked, patting the dragon's ridged back.

The dragon's eyes widened. It knew what was coming. It gave a low grunt in protest, as if to say, "not again."

"Toothless," the rider chided, "it'll be fine!" He shifted his left foot – a prosthetic mirroring the dragon's left tailfin – and shifted a specially-designed lever which caused the mechanical fluke to fan out, allowing the dragon full flight control.

The dragon knew there was no turning back. His features tightened up once again into an expression of concentration as he felt his rider unfastened the leather ring that tethered the pair together.

Sitting up straight, the rider closed his eyes. _Okay, you can do this. You can do this. Just don't think too much…_

With that, he slid off the right side of the dragon, free falling through the air, his scream echoing through the air.

Toothless knew the drill. Keeping his eyes on his friend, the dragon shot downwards after him after him like a bird of prey.

"Yeaaaaahhhh! Whoooo!" the rider yelled at the top of his lungs. The frigid air pounded relentlessly against his skin as he tucked in his arms, letting gravity to the work. Toothless matched the young man's moves, and soon they were face-to-face, circling each other while falling back to earth.

"Yeah!" the rider shouted once again, grinning at his faithful companion.

Toothless returned the gesture with a silly grin, his reptilian tongue flapping in the wind.

A hole in the clouds came into view, revealing the placid waters below. At this, the rider stuck his arms through leather rings attached to his pants on either side of him and pulled, activating A pair of "wings" resembling those of a flying squirrel. At the same time, Toothless spread his wings as well, and the pair jerked to an abrupt halt in midair, resuming a horizontal flight pattern.

The young man opened his eyes as he aligned his legs for smoother flight. _Another successful run._ Reaching to his left side with his right hand, he pulled a ring, and immediately a prosthetic fin similar to a dragon's snapped into place on his back.

…_The world just got a whole lot better._

"This is amazing!" the rider shouted in exhiliaration.

And it was amazing. The two soared beneath the gleaming sun, taking in and enjoying the sight of regal clouds and the vast ocean. It was a sight to die for. The human turned back to the dragon momentarily, establishing eye contact with the creature. The dragon got the message. Laughing, the rider put on a burst of speed and shot forward. Toothless followed suit. Up here, nothing could touch them. The skies were theirs.

Soon, the ocean gave way to the Berk's forest-covered cliff faces – miles and miles of lush wilderness. "You ready to land?" the rider shouted. Toothless grunted in consent.

"Okay," the rider nodded, gesturing to a small, moss-covered portion of the cliff coming up. The patch of terrain was partially obscured by cloudy mist, but could clearly be seen from where they were.

"We land over there. Come closer so I can attach – Toothless!"

Toothless thought it would be fun to show off a little more before the end of their trip. He flew around the rider, just out of reach from the rider's outstretched hand.

"C'mon, Toothless, I need to attach this harness!" the human protested. Toothless made happy rumbling noises as he taunted his rider. The added auto-flight feature was seriously the best thing to happen to him since the loss of his actual tailfin five years ago.

"Toothless, this isn't funny anymore!" the rider yelled over the _whoosh_ of high-speed winds. But the dragon had it all under control. At his human's words he quickly moved into position, allowing the rider to connect the harness.

"Now, that's more like – TREE!"

Roaring, Toothless struggled to recover from his shenanigans as he flailed wildly in the sky. His underbelly grazed a branch from a tall pine, which threw him out of control.

The rider clung on for dear life as he shouted directions to his friend. "No, no, okay, you gotta land over th - WHOOAAAA!"

_Snap! Snap! CRASH!_ Tempered by a couple branches, the dragon hit the landing spot hard, skidding to a stop at the edge of the cliff. The rider was thrown off as Toothless stopped moving. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The two lay in the dust for a while. Then the human started laughing.

"Haha! Yes! It worked! That was great! Whooo!"

Toothless produced a gleeful sound from the back of his throat.

Unhooking himself from his companion, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III got up and pulled his arms out from the binding leather rings, thus detaching his makeshift glider. A shock of brown hair spilled out from under his helmet as he removed it from his head. Enjoying the cool mid-afternoon air blowing against his sweaty features, he looked out toward to the west, where the ocean met the sky. The sun was beginning to set, and the first hints of orange were beginning to show among the swath of blue. To the right lay more of the coastline. Menacing, stormy gray clouds were floating above the mountains beyond the trees. Hiccup hoped it wasn't an early storm this year.

He glanced back at Toothless. The sleek dragon was idling around with nothing to do.

"We've _really_ got to work on your solo gliding there, bud," said Hiccup, turning his attention back to the sunset. "No more fancy stuff when I need to hook back up to you, okay?"

Toothless' eyes narrowed indignantly and Hiccup felt a pebble tap him on the back of the head. He turned around. "Toothless!..."

At the sound of his name, the dragon turned away, annoyed.

"You're pouting, big baby-boo?" Hiccup teased, trying to get the creature's attention. Toothless rolled his reptilian eyes and responded sarcastically to the human's taunts with a series of imitative grunts. Hiccup threw his helmet to the ground. "Well, try _this _on!" With that, he seized the dragon's neck with his comparatively tiny hands, as if attempting a takedown. "Ohhh, ya feelin' it yet?"

Smirking, Toothless stood up on his hind legs, lifting his friend off the ground, and strolled over to the edge of the cliff. It was a pretty high drop into the ocean below.

"Aaah!" Hiccup gasped as he dangled over the edge. "You wouldn't hurt a one-legged…whoa!"

Toothless flopped over playfully on his back, then turned over, pinning the young man to the ground. Hiccup laughed hard as the dragon gave him a friendly lick. "No! Stop it! Aaaah! Hahaha!"

The dragon got off Hiccup, letting him get up.

"And I really hoped I wasn't gonna be needing a bath tonight," Hiccup groused, wiping dragon drool off his face and neck. "Well, that's enough for today, bud," he smiled, patting Toothless' scaly head. "We'd better be getting back. It's gonna be dark out."

With that, Hiccup put his helmet back on and climbed back onto the dragon. "Ready?" he asked, strapping himself in.

Toothless made an enthusiastic noise, and the pair shot off into the sky once more, headed for home.

_This is Berk. Life here is amazing._


End file.
